The Puppeteer's Sister
by Glacial Pisces
Summary: "Things tend to go wrong. We cannot change that fact, but we can fix the aftermath...unless it involves Konoha High. Then we are pretty much screwed." Imagine a high school life that contained science classes with Orochimaru, gang movement, and a somewhat scary second personality. Yeah, that's my current life. Except much darker. (Contains violence and mild cursing...and Hidan)
1. Let The Last Lunch End

_Pisces: It with great pleasure that I introduce all y'all to the newest story of my little collection, __The Puppeteer's Sister__. I hope you enjoy :)_

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE - LET THE LAST LUNCH END**

"Late again," my friend, Yomine, whined, "Sometimes I wonder if Kakashi-sensei is really a teacher here…"

"Can't complain," I muttered, thinking to myself, '_And this is why I wanted to join the AP class…Goshdangit. ARRRRRGGGGHHH. Normal classes are the worst._'

_I didn't have a lot against normal classes. It was just that I didn't like being in an environment in which people throw stuff around and make crude jokes. Plus, normal classes have these kinds of people:_

"I FINALLY UNDERSTAND NOW!" my classmate, Rock Lee, exclaimed, holding up his copy of the stupid math textbook as if it were a message from God.

_Yeah. Those kinds of people._

_You may be wondering why my friend, Yomine, the 1st year student, is in my math class. Well, the answer is quite simple; AP. They didn't have enough space for AP classes with the small amount of students wanting to do AP, and they didn't want to do afterschool classes due to clubs, so they did a speed-course of the class they were supposed to take the month before school, and then they were upped a grade in that class._

_You may also be wondering who we are. Well, my name is Sayaka. I don't have a last name due to my being adopted and my refusal to take up their last name. I am in my 2nd year of high school and I attend Konoha High. I stand at about 4' 9", hence making me the shortest in my class. That means nothing, though. I am quite intelligent. I have two AP courses this year; Science and Language Arts. I don't like to talk about it, though…Really, I don't like to talk at all. At least not around people I don't like or don't respect. I speak with a notebook and pen around new people and people I don't like._

_Now, Yomine Kuroyuki, she's the opposite of me. She's tall and really, REALLY pretty. As said before, she's a 1st year here, and she has one AP class. Well, she's not the complete opposite of me. She's really smart, too. It's just that she's a bit more open with people. Rambunctious, even, but only around those she trusts. And she's also more…well, active. It seems to me that after I had welcomed her into my dorm, she had taken control. And I was fine with that. I take orders better than I can give them._

_And when I say she's pretty, I really mean it. She's got the prettiest violet eyes, and though she's pale like me, she makes it look like she isn't dying, unlike me. And she's got a beautiful hourglass figure, too. She also has long black hair with purple and red streaks/tips. It works well with her punk Lolita-like style. Even now, she's somehow incorporated her style into the uniform. She has the usual 1st year uniform consisting of the black sweater, a white blouse, a dark blue pleated skirt, and a dark blue tie. She has added a black choker, a thick black belt, and a few chain belts connected to the black belt. She also wears black combat boots and black knee high socks with a dark blue stripe near the top._

_I can't deny that I envy her confidence. After all, I hide in my uniform. My black sweater is many sizes too large, but I like it like that. The rest of my uniform is like a regular 2nd year student's; I have the white blouse, the red skirt (though it is a bit longer than most and it goes to a few inches above my knees), black knee high socks, and the brown school shoes. I had chosen to wear the red bow rather than the tie, though._

I sighed loudly, attempting to grab a pencil from my school bag.

_Stupid sleeves. I can slap a guy an arm's length plus half a foot away from me with these things, but I can't even grab a pencil? Stupid._

I sighed again, rolling up only my left sleeve to grab that stupid pencil. I also decided to grab a book, since Kakashi-sensei looks like he's gonna be a while.

_Man, this is taking him longer than usual. I wonder what's up. Oh, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Look who just walked in._

"Hello class. I hope I didn't keep you waiting. You see, I got sidetracked on the path of life and-" our silver-headed teacher looked around at the unamused class, "Well, I see that you are all here. I want to introduce you to some new faces."

Two new faces walked in. One had purple lines drawn on his face with makeup and was wearing a black hoodie rather than a sweater and a red tie. He had a smirk on his face. The other looked completely serious. He had black eyeliner ringed around his sea foam green eyes and vibrant red hair. He had a red tattoo on his forehead that said…"Love", I think. His uniform was the standard boy uniform and he had a blue tie.

"These will be your new classmates from now on," Kakashi-sensei said rather cheerfully, "Why don't you two introduce yourselves?"

"My name is Kakuro," the one with the hoodie said, "And this is my brother Gaara. We're both from Suna High." At this, many of the girls started swooning.

_Well, they were swooning when they walked in, but now this was hardcore swooning, man._

_WHY AM I NOT IN AP?! GOSHDANGIT! FANGIRLS! ROOOOAAAARRRR! MAN, I HATE FANGIRLS._

From the corner of my eye, I caught a red flash in Yomine's eyes; the corner of my mouth lifted slightly.

_Oh, this means something quite important. I can feel it._

_Well, of course. Yomi's eyes don't turn red unless she's feeling a really strong emotion, and from what it looks like to me, it seems as if my young friend has a CRUSH on the NEW GUY!_

"Well, with that out of the way, we can get started. Why don't you two take a seat by Sayaka and Yomine. Sayaka, Yomine, can you please raise your hands?" We did so. The kid with the black hoodie took a seat behind me, and the kid with red hair sat beside Yomine.

_I think she just died internally fangirling._

"Which one of you is Sayaka?" kid with black hoodie - Oh, right. _Kankuro _– said. I turned around to look at him, and then raised my hand hesitantly. He grinned, "Well, aren't you a pretty face. Hey there, Sayaka. Guess who's going to be in most of your classes?" I raised my eyebrow at this, and then scribbled something on a sheet of notebook paper. I then tossed it behind me at him. It read, "_Then I wish you the best of luck, Kankuro._" Now that that was out of the way, I can focus on today's lesson.

_Apparently it was about factoring Quadratics. Easy stuff, really. Just cute little "U"s and unhappy faces on graphs. They are beautiful, really, and as is math._

"Psst, Sayaka." Oh, god. Was that Kankuro? Geez, what does he want now? I turned around and shot him an annoyed expression, holding up a sheet of notepaper with "_What do you want?_" written on it. He looked a little sheepish, "Can you help me with this?"

I gave an irritated sigh and showed him a sheet of notebook paper. It read, "_What do you need help with?_"

"Well…Everything." I sighed yet again, and then handed him a note saying, "_Give me a moment._" I then made a copy of my notes, except with the main details highlighted and with detailed directions to do the factoring in case he had forgotten. Being a quick writer, I had managed to do this task pretty quickly. I then handed the notes to him with another note on top saying, "_Only this one time._" just as the bell rang.

_Curses. I didn't finish my worksheets. Now I have homework. CURSES._

then began packing up, only to hear Yomine say in a very cheerful tone, "I'll show you around the school!" and then her footsteps as she and someone else walked out of the door.

_Great. Ditched by the friend. That's great._

"It's just you and me now," Kankuro winked at me, "Why don't you and I-"

I shoved a note in his face, "_CORRECTION. I will take you to your class, and then I will go to mine ALONE. I have an AP class, which means that I will be with the 3rd years_."

Upon reading this, he grinned, "In that case, I think you'll be thrilled to meet my older sister. Her name is Temari."

* * *

"So...lunch room..." Temari commented, her teal eyes scanning the student-packed room. Her voice, though it was quite loud, was almost lost in the chaos that is known as the Konoha High lunch room. The blond girl towered over me by at least half a foot in her uniform with her 3rd year black tie and skirt.

"Saya-chan! Over here!" My purple and red-streaked haired friend waved at me. The red haired boy was beside her, silently observing the room with a serious face. I think his name was Gaara.  
"Is that...my brother?" Temari asked. I looked at her, and then at Gaara. I then pointed at him and shrugged.

"Yeah, that's Gaara," she looked over at me, "It may not look like it, but we really are blood related." I nodded, lowering my arm. Someone then attacked me by slinging an arm over my shoulders, "Hey there, sweetheart." I squeaked in surprise.

Temari looked over at my attacker, "Oh, it's just you." Panicked, I shot the older girl a distressed look. She sighed, "Kankuro, get off the poor girl." Kankuro whined, "But Temari..."  
"Kankuro. Off. Now."

The arm unwound itself from me, but not before its owner had touched my butt. I squeaked again. Temari shot the boy a look of pure disapproval. He shrugged it off.

_And so the other brother decides to show his face too. Great. It was bearable with the quiet one. Now we have this one. Great._

I pointed at the table with my friend and their sibling. The two shrugged and joined me as we crossed the room with our lunches.

_As soon as we sat down, introductions went around. Looks like it's just going to be Tenten and Neji, Hinata, and the other people I've already mentioned (Yomine, Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and myself). I assumed Sakura and Ino sat at a different table (and I was okay with that.) Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba were probably with the Athletic Group/Jocks/Whatever You Want To Call Them. Shikamaru was probably watching the clouds outside with Choji, who was probably eating both of their lunches. Sai was probably in the art room sketching. And Lee was probably doing some sports training with Guy-sensei._

I turned to my friend and asked, "Social?" She grinned and started going on about Social was finally interesting without giving a reason why. I raised an eyebrow and gestured at the boy beside her. When she turned slightly red at the slight movement, I grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

_That girl's so cute. Aww, young love._

"Is that a smile I see, Sayaka?" Kankuro asked devilishly, poking at my cheek. As quickly as it came, it vanished. I smacked a note into his face, "STOP."

Tenten grinned, "You heard the lady, Kankuro. You'd better do what she says. Otherwise, she may use you in her next Bio experiment." The non-transfer students minus me burst into laughter. As for me, I put on an evil face and rubbed my hands in the most sinister way possible.

_Everyone knows I hate bio experiments more than anything. Especially because Orochimaru-sensei is the one one leading the thing!_

Kankuro held his hands up in surrender. His siblings and I joined in the laughter.

_These guys are mushrooms. They're fungi-s...Yeah, bad joke. Sorry, sorry._

I turned to my lunch as the conversation resumed around me. An apple, some mashed potatoes, a package of snap peas, a little carton of milk, and a large slice of SPAM stared back at me. I put the SPAM on a paper towel and pushed it to the middle with a note, "Who wants the devil meat-I MEAN SPAM. Who wants the SPAM? I'll trade SPAM for milk or snap peas." While I waited for people to notice and read my note, I started on the potatoes.

_Mmm...Potatoes...Gotta love them._

Yomine and Tenten decided to split it. Yomine gave me her peas and Tenten gave me her little carton. "Thanks," I whispered, taking the package and opening up the carton. I sipped from it, the frosty beverage cooling my throat.

"Despite the amount of milk you drink, you never really seem to grow, do you, Sayaka?" Neji commented, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk stretched across his pale face. I was about to slap a note on his tray when Yomine reached across the table, grabbed his apple, and threw it at him. He caught it, scowling, though I think he was trying to fight a smile, "Hn, so immature."

"Thank you, Yomi," I smiled at her. "No prob, Say ("Sai")," she replied, "I've always wondered what it'd be like to throw an apple at that guy anyway." The redhead beside her chucked at this, obviously amused by her antics.

"I think we're going to like it here at this school," Temari said, a cool smirk on her face.

"Th-that's g-great!" Hinata said, a smile lighting up her face.

_Of course, I'm not too sure if they knew what kind of history this school has...But let me just say this, it's pretty bad._

The bell rang, startling the table members. I fumbled to throw my packages of peas and apple and other carton of milk into my bag while everyone split into their respective class-going groups. Me with Temari and everyone else in the other group. I looked over at her in sympathy and said, "Science."

_Let's be honest. That was actually one of the best lunches I've had in a while. It was a good thing I didn't skip today._

We exited the lunchroom, only to find a large group gathered around the area near the front door.

"What is going on?" Temari asked, "Some sort of Konoha High student thing?" I just shrugged, a disturbed feeling settling in my gut and a confused expression on my face.

"Oi, Sayaka, just bear with me for a second, 'kay?" came Kankuro's voice. I let out a really large squeak of surprise when he hoisted me up into the air and placed me on his shoulders.

_Thank KAMI I wear shorts under this stupid skirt._

"Well, what is it?" Yomi demanded, the rest of her group now surrounding us.

When I saw what the fuss was about, I couldn't believe it. So I just stared at it, letting it all sink in, my hands over my mouth as the universal sign of shock. Everything I heard came to me just as muddled noise like I was in a restaurant with earplugs. I now barely recognized where I was, much less convey what I saw.

_What the hell? Who in the right mind would do such a thing?! It's atrocious! It's a crime! It's-_

"SAYAKA!" I blinked, my senses now recognizing the world as the world and not some stupid muddled form of it. The little group surrounding me had been calling my name.

I attempted to write a note, but my hands shook too much; so much that my already messy handwriting became huge scribbles everywhere, which was a really rare thing. So, I resorted to real words. "Put me down, Kankuro," I ordered. He did so, surprised by the authority I had injected into my quiet voice. "Thank you."

"What as it?" "Did you see it?" "Why is everyone here?" "Was it fun up on my shoulders-OW! TEMARI!"

I took a deep breath to steady myself. I didn't feel any better now on the ground and blind to the cause of the commotion. Yomine grabbed me by the shoulder and shook me like a carton of orange juice, "TELL US!"

"S-someone d-drew on the wall..." I stammered.

Neji sighed, "I thought I made it so that students can't do that anymore."

_Oh yeah, the Hyuuga's Student Council president. He has a lot of power here._

"Well, someone obviously broke more rules than just that one if little Sayaka is quivering like this," Kankuro said, gesturing to me.

_I was quivering? What?_

One glance at my hands confirmed this. My stupid knees decided that now was a good time to give way and I fell to the stupid floor. It was a good thing my nerves were too preoccupied with making me feel like a scared little girl.

"Saya-Oh my Kami. Sayaka, are you all right?" Tenten asked, crouching down to my level. Kankuro wrapped his arms around me, but I didn't seem to mind it.

"Something bad is going to happen soon," I managed to say between my shivering and chattering teeth. The group just looked at me with an even stranger look. I continued, "They...they are coming for us. They said so."

"Sayaka, speak ENGLISH. Your jibber-jabber makes no sense right now," Yomine said, sounding annoyed, "Now just tell us!"

I pushed Kankuro away, now slowly reverting back to my old self, "A death threat, signed by a gang, "Sound Ninjas". They know our students' names, and according to them, someone in the next week is going to die..." I bit my lip and hesitated. The group gestured for me to continue. I did so cautiously, "...Inuzuka, Kiba...and they also have-"

"Sayakaaaaa!" I heard a panicked howl from none other than the aforementioned boy.  
"Here," I called out as loud as I could.

I was then safety-tackled by the boy, which is saying a lot since he does play a lot of sports in which tackling is meant to hurt the other person, "Sayaka...They took him..." I heard sobbing from my shoulder, "THEY TOOK AKAMARU!"

"And how do you know they're serious?" Gaara spoke (finally).

_Wow, that is one majestic voice._

"Well, apparently they have the dog," Tenten said, earning a sob from the boy attached to me.

"The note was written in red," I said softly, "and sadly, speaking from experience, that is blood. And I'm pretty sure it's Akamaru's."

* * *

_****__(I own nothing but Sayaka. All characters and credit goes to those who deserve it.)_


	2. Welcome To My Humble Home

**CHAPTER THREE - WELCOME TO MY HUMBLE HOME**

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tappity tap tap tap. **Slam**. Tap. Tap. Tap.

_I could not stop tapping my damn pencil. Pinning my hand to my desk obviously didn't help. It just kept tapping that damn pencil, damn it!_

_Damn my nervous habits. Damn my habits. Damn my nervousness. DAMN IT. I have no reason to be nervous. Certainly not for Kiba...one of my closest friends...Nope. No reason to be effing nervous. No effing reason at-Oh SCREW IT ALL._

"Miss Sayaka, is there anything you'd like to share with the class?" Orochimaru-sensei looked at me with that creepy grin of his.

I looked around frantically at the class. Luckily, there was a moron making fun of body parts. I pointed at him, using him as an excuse to cover up my little panic attack. "Pancreas is a funny word," he said, "and so is gallbladder. Ha ha. Gallbladder."

"Mr. Bob, if you find those body parts so amusing, perhaps you could come up and show the class which of my jars contains them." That shut the boy up

_Oh yeah. Orochimaru-sensei keeps organs and things in jars. He apparently studies them. Though, I'm pretty damn sure he keeps them there just to freak the heck out of the students._

"If he doesn't want to do it, I can," the creepy guy in the front, Kabuto, said. Orochimaru-sensei just smiled at him and let him pick the jars. I swear, Kabuto stroked them before giving them to Orochimaru-sensei.

_As disturbing as that classroom was, the unsettling feeling of the events before had not left me. I remembered Kiba's face as I revealed to him the fate set before him by those stupid wannabe ninjas. He had tried to laugh it off, but he, just like I, was thrown into shock. He had then lashed out at me, yelling, "You're lying! Don't lie to me!"_

_Kankuro and Neji h__ad tried to pull him away from me, but not before he had scratched my left cheek and landed a punch on my shoulder. The boys dragged him away as the girls fretted around me, saying things like "Are you okay?" "Does it hurt?" "I'm going to kill that bastard."_

_"I'm fine," I had said at the time, "I don't blame him. He's hurting._

_Besides, it would have hurt a lot more if I didn't have such high pain tolerance. I can feel it, but I choose not to recognize it. Also, the fact that I had experienced a lot of abuse in my childhood years really helped with dealing with pain._

_But I just couldn't get over the fact that someone had targeted him and took Akamaru AND sent a message in cold blood. Like, what sort of psycho would do that?!_

_Those Sound Ninja guys. That's who. Those Sound Ninja psychos._

_I could barely stand it. Someone had hurt one of my dearest friends. And he's probably now feeling really guilty for unconsciously attacking me. Like I said, I don't blame him. He was going through the stages of bad news. Except for him, anger followed shock rather than sadness._  
_I had him in my next class. Maybe I could talk to him then or something..._

I took out my schedule and scanned over it, just to give my fingers something to do.

_**Schedule:**_  
_Homeroom (Kakashi)_  
_Math (Kakashi)_  
_LA (Kurunai)_  
_PE/free period (Gai)_  
_(Lunch)_  
_Science (Orochimaru)_  
_Social (Asuma)_

PE had been a free period today. After all, they were still working out stuff for certain clubs and all. I had spent it giving a tour to Temari.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. **Slam.** Tap. Tap. Tap.

_Goshdangit, hand. Why did you grab the pencil again?! Hand? Hand. Listen to me. Stop. No. STOP. Fine, if you won't stop, then at least make it quiet! Please and thank you!_

_I was sure the older kids and Temari were confused, if not a little bit annoyed at my tapping. I think, though, Sakura, Sasuke, Neji (who had arrived late), and Shikamaru knew what was up with me. After all, I was with most of them from my 1st year. They should know all of my habits when they see them. They should know that this is the nervous one. Pencil fiddling._

I switched to my other hand, where it began to spun the pencil, occasionally jotting down the notes needed. Even if I was worried, I knew that I couldn't afford to fail my classes.

The bell rang, just as Orochimaru-sensei picked up one of his jars to show us the digestive system. Most, if not all (minus that freak, Kabuto), students shoved everything in their bags and bolted out of the room. Shikamaru, Temari and I pretty much just ran to their Math class. "Kakashi-sensei may be a bit late, but don't worry too much on that," I told her, before heading to my Social class.

Upon arriving, I headed straight to my desk. My friend Sai usually arrives before me and is usually sitting in his seat, sketching. However, he entered the room today after I had sat down.

"Hello, Sayaka-chan," he greeted me with a smile, sitting down at his desk. I smiled back, handing him the apple and package of snap peas from lunch. I knew he never really eats lunch, so I usually try to save him something from mine. I don't eat much, anyway. He thanked me, and started getting his stuff out.

"Kiba?" I asked him, trying not to let the worry show. He gave me a strange look, "Inuzuka-san? I don't think he was in class last period. Why? Do you need him for something?"

"Nothing," I said, turning back around, watching the rest of the students file in. I felt the suspicious look he gave me...well, the back of my head.

Lo and behold, when class started, my canine-obsessed friend was nowhere to be seen. "Does anyone know where Inuzuka-san is?" Asuma-sensei asked.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

_Oh, for the love of Kami! Hand, STOP IT._

"Well, Sayaka-chan, I think your pencil just picked up on the pop quiz I was going to hand out." There were groans around the class.

Kankuro, who sat on the opposite side of the class, raised his hand, thus saving the class, "Excuse me, sir. I'm...new here."

Asuma then decided that he was too 'busy' to mark pop quizzes and cancelled them. Thank you, new kid. Finally, you are useful for something other than bad flirting advice.

And then...well, Social class continued as usual. People slept. People doodled. I spun my pencil.

_This classroom does not appreciate loud pencil-fiddling._

_However, something was off. I could feel it. Asuma-sensei may not have looked like it, but something from him felt...worried. Anxious, even. It seemed as if the note from after lunch didn't just affect the students..._

When the bell rang, I approached Neji and Kankuro, a dark aura surrounding me, "Where is he?" Neji looked up at me, unaffected by my presence, "In the nurse's office. He passed out soon after his little fit."

I thanked him and rushed out of the room, but not before getting Neji to make sure that the siblings got to their dorms or wherever they were staying safely. I pretty much broke the sound barrier running to the nurse's office, and was completely out of breath when I stumbled through the door.

Shizune-sensei, the secretary and nurse, gave me the strangest look, "Hello, Sayaka-chan. Can I help you with anything?"

"Inuzuka-san," I had managed to say between my gasping for air, "How is he?"

"We sent him home," Tsunade-sensei said from behind me. I moved to let her into the room. She continued, "He didn't seem like he was able to participate in class and he needed some bed rest, so we called his mother to pick him up. He should be at school tomorrow."

_Tsunade-sensei was the principal, but she also worked as a doctor at a nearby hospital. She spends more time here, though, and only works for the hospital if there is an emergency._

Now somewhat speechless, I bowed and thanked the both of them and turned to leave. "Wait," Shizune-sensei grabbed my shoulders and turned me around. She then rubbed the cheek that had been scratched with a cotton ball and stuck an adhesive strip (commonly known as a 'Band-Aid') over it, "You had an untreated cut and it was bleeding."

_It was bleeding? That's news to me._

"Thank you, Shizune-sensei," and with that, I bowed, and then left to my humble home, AKA the dormroom I shared with Yomi, AKA the best friend.

* * *

Upon entry, I was greeted with the scent of meat and the sounds of frying. Bacon, I assumed. "I'm home," I called, taking off the brown school shoes.

"Welcome home," came the reply.

I walked over to the kitchen area, where lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and white bread greeted me, "So...BLTs for dinner tonight? I'm guessing the leftover macaroni salad gonna be dinner, too."

"You betcha," the girl looked over at me, "How's that cheek? Need me to kill him because I can and-"

"We are not killing my friend," I told her firmly, "He was in shock. And now he's safe at home. No one's dying tonight (or so I hope). Now, I'm getting started on homework. Call me when dinner's ready."

She made a face and turned back to the bacon, "You have a lot of homework?"

"More than usual." And by that, I meant, homework from Math, a report for Social, and a book to finish for LA.

If you think it's unfair that she cooks, well, know this; I clean. I wash the dishes and do laundry and mop and sweep and vacuum and all that stuff for all rooms but hers. If I cooked, we'd die of diabetes. Or of food poisoning.

I went straight to my room, my special place. It had a calming atmosphere, especially since it was mainly lavender-based, with lavender coloured walls and lavender and vanilla scented candles (UNLIT). The doors were white and the bed had a black frame. It was one of those beds which was like a bunk bed, but rather than a second bed, I had a desk and a couple of shelves filled with books of all sorts set up. I had my clothes all in my closet, which was painted a vanilla bean cream (not beige. There is a difference.) Beside the closet was a black upright piano, my black violin case resting on too of it beside the lamp. Opposite to my bed was a small cream coloured sofa with black pillows and a (folded) lavender blanket, a glass table, and a couple of bean bag chairs. Above the couch was a small bulletin board where I had pinned photos of my friends and family and my to-do lists. Beside the bed, was a small window, which I had cracked open to let in some fresh air.

I sighed, taking in the atmosphere. I then capped all of the candles and brought out some peppermint oil, which I rubbed into my temples and behind my ears.

_Goodbye headache. Hello properly working brain. Time to do some homework._

Though, as much as I tried, there was nothing I could do to stay focused. My thoughts kept going back to Kiba and those damn so-called 'Sound Ninjas'.

_Konoha High used to have a bit of gang involvement sometime before apparently, back when our senseis were students. There was something about gangs and then some family got involved. A lot of people were injured and some were expelled...and some died. It was really just a bunch of misunderstandings and people trying to take over the school. The family was one that had originally founded the school. I think it wanted to take it back, but the city wanted to keep it as is. It's a pretty complicated history for a little school. Well, it's not little. It's the only school in our little town. Which isn't really little either..._

_All in all, there's a lot of history and it's probably best not to go into it._

_Okay, math. Done. Now the report on a war...But which war should I choose? Ugh...There are so many wars to choose from...Wait. That is a horrible thing to say. (Insert explicit word here.)_

"Sayakaaaaa. Diiiiinneeeeerrrrr~"

_Ooh. Dinner._

She had set up the table as I entered the room and greeted me as I sat, "How was school?"

I picked up my cup of tea and sipped, trying to avoid answering. When I did, though, there was a long pause and hesitation, "...There was that thing after lunch."

Both of us made a face. I then tried to ask her something, but I couldn't form the words.

"I felt as if I could trust them," she had answered to my unspoken question, "They really do seem like good people."

Which explains why she was so open at lunch. She's usually never that open with strangers around.

"You mean Gaara is the one you trust," I corrected, watching a blush making it's way onto her face. She nearly did a spit-take on me. I dodged by diving to the floor, "Whoa! Food stays on the inside, woman!"

_Safe to say, it was quite amusing to see her reactions to this. It has been a while since she has fallen head over heels for a boy. And she has fallen hard this time._

"Don't you dare tease me like that!" she exclaimed, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Well, you're not denying it," I retorted, a sly grin forming as I sat back down on the chair, "So is it true?" I dived for the ground again, dodging a thrown fork, "Holy camoly! No forks! What if you hit my eye?!"

She shrugged, "You wouldn't have gotten hit by it anyway. I was aiming for your boobs."

I flushed, climbing back into the chair, "My lack of boobage, you mean. That would have hurt a lot more than if you had hit my eye."

She smirked as she picked up another fork, "Wanna confirm that?"

"Heck no!" I lunged for the fork and set it on my side of the table, "Fork-throwing is not a way to counter teasing!"

_A typical night at our dorm, despite the unusual events at school._

* * *

While I was doing dishes, the phone rang. Yomine was in her room and probably doing homework, so I answered, "Moshi moshi?"

"Sayaka-chan?"

It was Inuzuka Hana, Kiba's older sister. I was in her LA and Science class, which was how we met.

"This is she."

"Can I please borrow your notes from Science today?"

"Can you handle messy handwriting and pencil tapping marks?"

"Oh, was that you? I was wondering who that was," she laughed, "Sure, that's fine. Believe me, you don't know messy writing until you see my brother's. Speaking of Kiba, what's up with him? He's been in his room all day."

There was no point in lying to her. Besides, I can't lie, "Someone's after his life...and they took Akamaru."

I imagined her making a face, "No, he would have a much more different reaction. He'd probably be moping around outside of his room or hunting him down. No, this is different. Has he done anything bad lately?"

"He threw a fit and passed out?"

"...Anything else?"

'Don't tell her he more or less attacked you,' my inner voice told me.

I complied, "He...uhh...I'll just send you the notes. Give me a minute." I then set the phone on the counter and ran to my room to grab my bag, hearing the woman on the other end screaming Kiba's name. I scanned and sent the notes in record time, and then returned to the phone, "I-I'm back."

"Hello Sayaka-chan. I received the notes. Thank you very much! Now, what did he do again?"

"He...I...Um...Nothing." It was like I was suddenly becoming Hinata or something.

"You sure, Sayaka-chan?"

"Positive," I tried to make my tone as light and as happy as possible, "I guess I'll see you both at school, then?"

"Definitely," she grinned, "See ya then. Don't forget to finish the assigned reading."

"I won't. Tell him Asuma-sensei assigned a report."

"Will do." And with that, she had hung up, which I did shortly after.

It was getting pretty late...not that I slept much anyways. I finished up the report and chose to take a quick shower before I started reading.

The black and lavender coloured sheets that I used to find so comforting did nothing to quell my ever-active mind nor incessant thoughts about Kiba or those Sound Ninja guys. The stuffed bunny I had since I was a child (Willow, I had called it) didn't help either.

_Who were they, and what do they want with Kiba? Where is Akamaru?_

_When did this suddenly become 20 Questions with the more cliché questions ever?_

* * *

_Pisces: Just a warning for the next chapter. It gets a little gory. If you can't handle that, you may want to skip the next update and wait for the 5th chapter. If you insist on reading the chapter, I'll pick a warning just before the gross parts and then I'll let you know when it's safe to read again. Sorry for the inconvenience._

_This is Glacial Pisces, signing off. PEACE!_

_****__(I own nothing but Sayaka. All characters and credit goes to those who deserve it.)_


	3. Things Go Downhill

((_Warning! This chapter contains some gruesome description. If you feel uncomfortable with that sort of stuff, please either skip the chapter or skip the part with the nightmare. For those who skipped the chapter, I will have a summary in the next chapter for you. I have also decided to put a warning sign where the part begins and I'll tell you when it finishes._))

**CHAPTER FOUR - THINGS GO DOWNHILL**

I was now in a black lolita-like nightgown. I didn't exactly enjoy being out of uniform, but this was certainly more comfortable to sleep in. My dark blue hair was out of its usual twin pigtail style and was now flowing freely to my mid back. I popped out my coloured contacts, making my brown eyes turn back to its natural gold colour and stored them in its little case before brushing my teeth and heading to my bed.

I turned on the reading lamp and started reading, soon delving into a world of revenge and forbidden romance. Even though it was my 50 billionth time reading Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's style never gets old.

((_A/N: WARNING. It starts here._))

* * *

When I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't keep the thoughts of Kiba and the Sound gang out of my head. Eventually, when I did sleep, I dreamed a dream in which I saw Kiba impaled by a large stick. I woke up with a shock. And then I fell asleep again, only to be greeted with the sight of his head being crushed by a large rock. Every time I saw him die, I woke, only to come back to a death more gruesome than the last.

This is not what it means to dream about a boy. No. Usually those mean that you're in love with a boy. These dreams are just plain freaky.

Which was the understatement of the year.

The last dream was his mangled body being eaten by snakes, who fed in a style more similar to dogs than snakes. He was still alive, but barely, making strangled noises through his destroyed throat. I could see his insides; his heart fluttering madly, his lungs rapidly expanding and contracting, his ribs, which were broken (there were pieces of bone littering the ground around him), his intestines, which flopped to the ground from his open torso.

He turned his head to stare directly at me. One of his eyeballs was missing, blood flowing freely out of the hole - the other was hanging from the socket. The skin from one of his cheeks was so thin, I could see the bone and flesh underneath. He weakly lifted an arm, which was basically bone and muscle, and reached for me, coughing out blood, "Say...aka..."

It was then when something large and heavy jumped at me from behind me. I quickly pivoted, my arms coming up in a defensive position. Attacking me was a bloodied, enlarged version of Akamaru, who was in no better shape than his owner. His teeth snapped at my face, trying to sink those large teeth into my dream skin. He, too, was missing large portions of him and his fur was dark red in some parts.

I struggled to keep my arms up and the large canine away. He managed to swipe a paw at me, his claws ripping three large gashes in my left cheek. I shoved him away before he could damage me further. Kiba didn't seem to notice this as he hissed at me, "Your...fault...This...is YOUR FAULT!"

The snakes which were eating at him stopped, and then simultaneously turned their heads to look at me. They then lunged at me as Kiba staggered to his feet, or what was left of them. I raised my arms again in defence, but was soon brought to my knees. Kiba laughed a horribly mangled laugh, "This is what you caused. You will pay for your sins. You will pay. You will pay. You will pay..."

The reptiles had now started to bite through my skin and into flesh. The burning agony of each bit of meat being torn away from me lingered in the area it had been from. I could feel my muscle being stripped away. I could feel the air on my bones and insides. I could feel my right eye being attacked until it had become souplike in consistency in the socket. I could feel the twitching of my body as it spasmed and flopped about.

Yet I was unable to say a thing. I couldn't beg for mercy. I couldn't scream in terror. I couldn't cry out in pain. I couldn't call out to my dear friend. I was useless and basically an observer. I was like a doll, but worse. I am a doll in real life, but in this dream, I am no more than a puppet.

His voice took on another, so when he spoke, it was like two people spoke at the same time, "You know, there is always escape." The serpents had picked up my grotesquely deformed body and clutched it in a deathlike grip with their tails as they slithered up a tree. There in front of me, a noose hung from a branch.

I opened my mouth, or what was left of it, and to my surprise, it wasn't my voice that came out, but one more confident and more melodious than mine, "I refuse."

The corpse of Kiba shrugged its shoulders, "That's fine. You'll die eventually. Just know that if you die by your own hands, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that it was under your control."

And then the snakes let go, letting me fall. The ground rushed to meet me; I couldn't close my eyes due to my lack of eyelids.

With a jolt, I sprang up from my bed, my height finally serving a purpose as my head missed the ceiling.

There it was again. That word. Control. What is so special about it anyway? It's just a word that means something is under the direct influence of something...or something like that. It's just a word...  
...and my greatest desire.

I fell back into bed, as the arms that had propped me up had given way. I raised my arms and stared at my hands in the grey light that had now filtered through the window. They were quivering and shaking, like tree branches in the autumn wind.

Tree branches. No. Let's not think of that.

I bumped my hand on something tied to the frame of the bed. I slid out of the warm lavender comforters and climbed down to investigate. When I had confined what it was, my hands flew to my mouth to stifle the screaming and my body began to tremble.

From the bedframe hung my precious stuffed bunny. The poor little plushie was dangling from a ribbon noose.

My hands flew to my chest, I confirmed the origin of the noose. My unconscious body had taken the ribbon from my nightgown and had created the noose. From there, it tied one end to the frame, and then looped it around the neck. And then it had let go, leaving the bunny to hang.

I quickly undid the knot, my fingers flying and fumbling to undo the horror I had brought upon my dear little Willow. Upon freeing the little stuffed animal, I brought it to my chest and buried my face in its black velvety fur.

What had I done? What had the dream done to me? What does that mean for me? Is it a sign that I will...die by my own hands?

* * *

((_A/N: It's done now._))

With the nightmare fresh in my mind's eye, I slipped into my school uniform, feeling the comfort of the enlarged sweater engulf me like a nice hug from a large teddy bunny.

Bunny. Let's not think of bunnies now.

The sky emitted a grey-blue light into my room, which probably meant that Yomine would be awake soon. I exited my room after cleaning up the mess from my nightmare and packing up all of my homework.

After a breakfast of toast and orange juice, we walked to school. My nightmare was still playing and replaying in my head, flashing images and scenes behind my eyes. As troubled as I felt, I managed to put on a happy face for my friend.

"Hey, it's Kiba!" she exclaimed. I jumped - her loud voice had shocked me out of my reverie. I looked over to where she was looking. My gold contact lens-covered orbs met his black ones, and then he pointedly looked away.

"...or not," she said, now a little quieter. I looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes. She noticed this and tried to cheer me up, "Hey, cheer up. It's not your fault."

Immense guilt settled over me. "That's not-" I was cut off as an agonized howl cut through the quiet morning. Yomine and I shared a look of panic before rushing over to the origin of the horrendous noise.

We found Kiba, sobbing as he clutched a tiny white blood-covered body in his hands, and a note on a nearby wall. Hana was comforting him, but nothing seemed to calm him down. I noted the tiny movement in the dog's chest. So Akamaru was alive. That's good news. The note on the other hand...not so much.

"We are coming after you, Konoha High School. Consider yourself warned."

I paled tenfold after reading this. Again, it was written in the little puppy's blood and was signed by an eighth note. Those Sound asses.

"What is going on here?" Enter: Principal Tsunade. She scanned over the note and paled.

Executive action was taken"...Classes are cancelled for the day. The staff will discuss this later today. You are all dismissed." And with that, she walked into the school.

"Now what?" Yomine asked me. I shrugged. Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara approached us. Yomine greeted then with a smile and a hidden blush. I just waved.

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to stay the night at our place tonight," Temari said, to which Yomine hastily agreed to. I declined politely via note "No thank you. I'm going to visit family tonight."

After all, it's been a while since I've seen my dear, sweet older brother.

* * *

_Pisces: My apologies. I know that some people don't appreciate the fact that I put in Author's Notes within the chapter, but I do not want to risk anyone reading something like this if they were not comfortable with this sort of thing. If it is a recurring thing, though, I will change the rating to M and put the warning in the description._

_Also, wow. I am updating a lot. Wow. I hope you're all happy._

_This is Glacial Pisces, signing off. PEACE!_

_**(I own nothing but Sayaka. All characters and credit goes to those who deserve it.)**_


	4. Beginning of the End

**_Previously on The Puppeteer's Sister:_**

_"What is going on here?" Enter: Principal Tsunade. She scanned over the note and paled._

_"...Classes are cancelled for the day. The staff will discuss this later today. You are all dismissed." And with that, she walked into the school._

_"Now what?" Yomine asked me. I shrugged. Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara approached us. Yomine greeted then with a smile and a hidden blush. I just waved._

_"Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to stay the night at our place tonight," Temari said, to which Yomine hastily agreed to. I declined politely via note. "No thank you. I'm going to visit family tonight."_

_After all, it's been a while since I've seen my dear, sweet older brother._

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE - BEGINNING OF THE END**

I stepped off the train and snapped open my black umbrella. There was always rain in Ame. Why my brother chose to live here was a mystery.

_Now, Nii-san, if I recall correctly, lives around this station...in the huge-ass building that stands taller than the rest...aha! Found it!_

_It must have looked strange for me to be in Ame. After all, I was still a 16 year old girl dressed up all in black walking alone and carrying a white and pink bakery box. It must have been the black that warded off the muggers._

_Today's outfit consists of a black Lolita coat with an adorable little capelet (with a hood!) over my uniform with long black socks instead of my usual knee highs and black mid-calf boots._

_Again, it must have been the black._

I wandered up to the 11th floor, where I approached room 8. From there, I slipped my fingers into a nearby crack in the wall, groping about until I had found the spare key.

_Leave it to Nii-san to make use of his roommate's destructive tendencies._

I opened the door, quickly replacing the key and mentally noting to get a copy of the key from my older brother the next time I came to Ame, and made my way inside, where I was greeted with stylish furnishing of consisting of the colours dark burgundy, black, beige, and tan, and the scent of wood shavings and baked clay.

I awkwardly took off my coat and hung it and my umbrella on the hooks by the door. I had just removed my boots when my older brother walked in from his room, looking not very surprised by my sudden visit, "I have yet to figure out how you keep getting in, Sayaka."

I grinned at him, "I'm your Imouto, remember, Sasori?"

_Yes, I was related to the infamous artist and doll/puppet maker Sasori. Well, not really. His family had adopted me after an...accident had happened to mine. And then after his parents were...murdered, his grandmother, Chiyo, took us both in. We left Suna after he graduated, and he put me in Konoha, where I now live at and attend the high school. He moved to Ame, where he attends Ame University and lives with...a fellow artist._

"Sasori-danna...Who is it, hmm?" A blond male made his way down from his room. My brother replied, "It's just Sayaka."

I smiled at the other man and lifted the box, "I brought cake."

"It's been a while, yeah," he said, walking over and ruffling my hair, "How has our little doll been?"

I sobered, "That's actually why I'm here. Something's happened at school." Sasori and Deidara shared a look before inviting me to take a seat on the couch. I set down the little box and smoothed out my skirt after sitting, my posture stiff as usual. For the next hour, I told the two of the vandalisms and the death threats against my friend. I also described to them in vivid detail of my dream. The two listened intently, Deidara showing more of a reaction than Sasori, especially with the nightmare.

"You have got to stop drinking hot sauce before you go to bed, yeah," Deidara deadpanned, opening the bakery box, "I hear it does crazy things to people's minds, hmm." I shot him a weird look, "As if I would do something so barbaric!"

_That is true. I can't eat anything spicy._

The box contained a small bag of gingersnaps, a couple of fruit tarts, and a small 6" cake. The cake was a chocolate strawberry shortcake with vanilla frosting. I always baked them something before visiting. Deidara took the box to the kitchen to cut it up.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now," I muttered, more to myself than to them, "I have a very, very bad feeling about all of this."

"I don't blame you. After all, the nightmare you had may be foreshadowing certain events," Sasori mused. I made a face at this, "That does not make me feel any better."

He continued, both his voice and demeanour uncaring, "Nonetheless, I wouldn't worry about it so much."

I jumped up at this, "But 'Sori-nii! My friend is in danger! I need to help him somehow!"

"You said so yourself that he doesn't even want to see you. How do you think you should help?"

I sat back down again, all fight in me gone, "...I don't know..." Silence fell heavily upon the room.

Deidara returned with the three plates, three forks, and cake. He set a plate on my lap with a smile, "Here, it'll make you feel better, hmm."

_Upon the realization that I could do nothing for Kiba, I couldn't eat the cake. It just didn't feel right. And when Deidara coaxed me to do so, it tasted bland. Which was strange - I had a sweet tooth._

_He tried to cheer me up after I had finished the cake by showing me some works of his art. He was a master with clay, and his art, as usual, was amazing. And it did work. I did feel a little better._

When I left, it was getting dark, so Deidara accompanied me on my journey back. Sasori-nii said he was busy with a project. He, however, sent me home with some new clothes his colleague had given him to pass to me.

* * *

When Deidara and I arrived, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I shoved the key in the lock and pretty much broke down the door as I threw open the door to my room where a sticky note was attached to my window.

That was odd, considering my dorm was on the top level of the building.

I opened my window and grabbed the slip of paper. When I read it, I paled, yet again.

_Not that it really mattered. I was pretty pale to begin with._

On a white sheet of paper in blue ink and signed with a droplet of ink was a hastily written message that for some reason came across to me as more of a hint than a threat.

"_Come to the gym. We have your friend._"

* * *

_PIsces: And that is another chapter. Hope all y'all enjoyed that one, and I hope to see you all soon! This is Glacial Pisces, signing off. PEACE!_

**_I own nothing but Sayaka. All characters and credit goes to those who deserve it._**


	5. Playing the Hero

**_Previously on The Puppeteer's Sister:_**

_When Deidara and I arrived, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I shoved the key in the lock and pretty much broke down the door. I threw open the door to my room where a sticky note was attached to my window._

_That was odd, considering my dorm was on the top level of the building._

_I opened my window and grabbed the slip of paper. When I read it, I paled, yet again._

_Not that it really mattered. I was pretty pale to begin with._

_On a white sheet of paper in blue ink and signed with a droplet of ink was a hastily written message that for some reason came across to me as more of a hint than a threat._

_"Come to the gym. We have your friend."_

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX - PLAYING THE HERO**

_Notes like those were usually never a good sign. Especially since this person obviously went through a whole lot to get this note to me._

_Something tells me that I need my contacts out. So I popped them out. I also took off the coat and my uniform and donned the only hoodie that actually fit me, a longer pair of shorts, and black tights. And for shoe-ware, I wore a pair of combat boots._

"Sayaka, what's wrong, hmm?" I handed him the note and ran out the door, pulling the hood over my head. He placed it on my desk and somehow made it out the door before I had slammed it shut and locked it, "Hey, are you seriously going to believe this guy, hmm? What if he's lying?"

"Kiba has probably gone to find them since Akamaru was so badly hurt to get revenge. They have been targeting him, too. I wouldn't be surprised if Akamaru was used as bait to get him to act this way so that they could actually get their hands on him." My words were rushed and as were my actions as I fumbled to lock the door.

That rendered the man speechless for a little bit, but he recovered quickly, "But what if their real target was you?"

Nightmare Kiba's words echoed in my mind; I froze, reliving the terror once again, "Your fault," he had said, "This is your fault."

"Then...It really is my fault that Kiba is targeted," I stated grimly, "And I'm going to pay the price for it by going after him and saving him."

I had gotten the door locked at this point and was storming off to become the hero. "I'm coming with you," he said, following me, "There's something more than just gang movement going on here, hmm. I can feel it."

I thanked him, now breaking into a run. I could feel the danger I was running into. It was do palpable, it was literally like I was running into a wall made of a cloud of danger. My mind screamed for me to turn around, but my body pushed on.

_I wanted to be the one to save someone this time. I don't want to be the one being rescued. I was tired of playing that role._

* * *

The gym doors that lead to the outside were propped open. Probably because one of the students "accidentally" left it open.

The moment I laid a hand against the door, I felt the danger at its fullest. Everything in me was yelling at me to get the hell away from that building. It was like there was an alarm blaring from the inside, "DANGER. STAY AWAY."

I hesitated. I knew that I needed to save him. I knew he was in more danger than me in that gym. But to basically throw myself into a fire to get someone out? Was it really worth it?

_Yes, it is. After all, lives like mine were expendable. Especially since I don't have anything to live for. No future planned. No ability to fall in love. Nothing._

_Here goes nothing, then._

I shoved the door, expecting the worst.

Compared to my "worst" this was actually quite tame, but it was not exactly good either.

There, Kiba lay, tied up and unconscious in the dark gym, bleeding onto the ground from his chest. There appeared to be some deformity around his upper torso. I assumed there were some broken ribs. His hands were taped together at the wrist and as were his feet. There was another piece of tape keeping his mouth shut and a blindfold over his eyes. No one appeared to be around, but it was very possible there was someone around, ready to pounce on us.

I felt my breathing and heart rate pick up. I didn't realize how shaky I was until I raised my hand to steady myself with the door.

So my dream was right about a few things:  
Broken ribs, check.  
Blood, check.  
Blinded in some way, shape, or form, check.  
A bloody, injured Akamaru, check.  
My fault, maybe check.  
Guts everywhere, hopefully not check.  
Me being eaten alive, hopefully not check.

Deidara grasped my shoulders, telling me to calm down and making sure to hold me back so that I didn't rush headfirst into the danger and smash my head on a wall or something stupid.

I followed his instruction to steady my breath:  
In. Out. In. Out. Iiiiiinnnn...Oooouuuutttt...Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnn...Oooooouuuuuttt...

All right. I'm good.

"I'm going in," I told him, keeping my voice steady, "Stay here in case I need you. Please."

He tried to object, but I had already condemned myself to my fate as I ran in blindly.

Despite all of the setting up for clubs, the gym was quite empty. Only the sports clubs' stuff was nearby, but there were all stored in respective bags in neat piles.

I had made it to Kiba's body without anyone lopping my head off, which was a good thing, I think. I checked for a pulse and for breath while simultaneously trying to undo the bindings. First was the blindfold, which showed me that he had a blackened eye. I attempted to take off the bindings on his wrist when I heard a groan and I felt him wriggle a little. I tried to keep him calm, "Shh...Kiba, it's me, Say. I know you hate me right now, but please...Calm down. I'll have these off in a sec-Ow." He had kicked my legs out from under me, sending me to the gym floor and thankfully not sprawled on top of him.

"Damn it. I missed," came a voice whose owner I did not recognize. It was a teenaged boy with chin length silvery hair and teal lipstick, or so that was what I could make of him in the dark gym. He was holding a baseball bat.

I gritted my teeth in frustration. Just what was I supposed to do now? Kiba's attacker is now aware of my presence. Should I fight back? Should I run?

"Hey, hurry up, hmm! I've got my hands a little busy here!"

_Hero instincts say grab the boy and run._

"Sakon, just finish them both off and hurry it up!" an impatient, deeper version of the enemy voice echoed from Deidara's location.

I unconsciously rolled to my right to dodge a strike to my head. The enemy after me whined, "I'm trying, Ukon, but this one's not making it easy for me to kill her."

"_**Kill me? I don't think so, asshole**_!" a part of me I didn't know existed exclaimed. That said part of me then took over my body.

My body tucked my legs into its chest as my attacker struck at the air where my legs were. My legs then shot back out and kicked the guy in the chest. Apparently, I was a lot stronger than I thought as that guy flew back pretty far. My body grabbed Kiba and ran for the door, where Deidara was fighting his own battle against a guy who looked very eerily similar to the one my body had just kicked.

"Ukon, stop her!" I heard from behind me. The one Deidara was fighting turned and ran at me, yelling, "Not so fast, girl!"

My body dropped Kiba and then roundhouse kicked the incoming male; he flew somewhere far away. It then kicked at an almost impossible angle on my right, where the one I had kicked in the chest before was now attacking me. My foot made contact with his face before he fell to the ground.

My body grabbed Kiba again, now flinging him onto my back and ran. I had no idea my body could be so active. I guess we learn new things everyday...some more new than others.

"_**You're welcome, bitch**_," that part of me said before disappearing back into the part of my brain that was apparently inaccessible to me.

_Suddenly, Kiba became a lot heavier._

_Wow. So apparently I have an alter ego who is apparently Super Woman or something. Wow._

"You okay, hmm?" Deidara asked me, taking the boy and relieving me of my burden. I nodded and then pointed at the door leading to the hallway, since the two guys were closer to the way we got in. We ran for it, barely making it before it slammed shut behind us.

"Kidomaru, you fat-asshole! You cheated!" came the angry shouts of a teenaged girl.

_Wow. She just combined "fatass" with "asshole". She certainly has a way with words._

"There's more of them, hmm?" Deidara exclaimed, obviously not very happy knowing this.

_With him holding Kiba and my worthless state, we were kind of not exactly in a good position. Oh Kami, what do we do?!_

_All right. Calm down. I need to think. That voice came from the hallway to my left. The elective wing for the juniors. They don't seem to be aware that we're here. That is a good thing. The closest exit is where we came in, AKA through the gym, but I'm not going in there. Our options now are:_  
_A) Science Wing exit_  
_B) Front Entrance_  
_C) Get caught_  
_D) The way we came in_

_C is NOT an option. B is locked and will trigger alarm. Also, we'd have to go through the area where the voices came from. A...I really don't want to go in there at night! It's already terrifying during the daytime! Plus, the alarms were probably still on there. D...well, I don't want to have to go through those guys...I can't kick butt like my apparent alter ego..._

_UGH. Where are my options when I need them?!_

"Hey! There are people here!" I heard someone yell.

_I said "options", not "more enemies"!_

In that moment, the gym door flew open, revealing two very angry teenaged boys with lipstick, "You're going to pay for that, you brat!"

_THANKS A LOT, LIFE._

"Let me help you," a new voice whispered. No one else seemed to hear it, so I assumed that it was also in my head. It was a male's voice, a nice one, and it seemed to be on my side.

I nodded once. And then the sprinklers let loose, water raining down on everyone but Deidara, Kiba, and me.

"Now go," the new voice said before disappearing back into who-knows-where of my mind.

"Let's go, Dei!" I called to him, shoving the now wet and shocked twins out of the doorway to the gym and leading him back to the door. I shooed him out before I slammed the door shut, hearing a satisfying Whump! as the brothers ran into the door in sync.

"Thank you," I whispered out loud, hoping the voice would hear. Deidara shot me a strange look, but said nothing of it.

"Well, the hospital is close. Think you can carry him there, hmm?" Deidara asked me. I tilted my head to the side with a questioning look on my face. He looked a bit sheepish, "I'm not very find of hospitals, hmm."

I sighed and grabbed the boy, carrying him in a piggyback. I thanked Deidara before running straight for the emergency rooms. I knew he could get back to Ame safely.

With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I was able to do this near-impossible task. At some point, my hair came out of its usual pigtailed style.

* * *

I burst through the doors, gasping, "Help. Please."

The nurses took one look at me, and then flew into action, the majority going and putting Kiba on a stretcher and whisking him away, and some going to me. I didn't hear, well, I couldn't hear what they were trying to say to me. They put a blanket over my shoulders and were telling me to calm down and to tell them what happened.

_Shock, I assumed, I was going into rescuer's shock._

I pushed up the sleeves of my hoodie, took a pen from one of the nurses and wrote on my arm, "_Is he going to be okay?_" At this point, only one nurse stayed with me whereas the rest went to check up on other patients.

"The boy will need surgery," the nurse said, "We may need to call in Tsunade, but he will survive."

_That did not make me feel better._

"_When can I see him?_" I wrote. They didn't know. "_I am going to wait here until I can see him._"

"Sorry, kid, but it would be better if you went home. After all," the nurse looked at me up and down with a disdainful look, "You have school tomorrow. Are you sure an elementary school kid should be up this late? It's not good for you."

I resisted the urge to scowl at her, and then discarded the blanket. I then began my walk to the exit.

"Wait! Kid!" she called after me.

But before I did, I turned and said using my voice, "By the way...You did not see me. I did not rescue the boy. Understand?"

"Why would you say that? We need to know this kind of information!"

I felt my gold orbs harden in a serious gaze, "Then let's say this. My name is Artemis, and that is all you need to know."

* * *

_****__(I own nothing but Sayaka. All characters and credit goes to those who deserve it.)_


	6. Never the Hero

**_Previously on The Puppeteer's Sister:_**

"When can I see him?" I wrote. They didn't know. "I am going to wait here until I can see him."

"Sorry, kid, but it would be better if you went home. After all," the nurse looked at me up and down with a disdainful look, "You have school tomorrow. Are you sure an elementary school kid should be up this late? It's not good for you."

I resisted the urge to scowl at her, and then discarded the blanket. I then began my walk to the exit.

"Wait! Kid!" she called after me.

But before I did, I turned and said using my voice, "By the way...You did not see me. I did not rescue the boy. Understand?"

"Why would you say that? We need to know this kind of information!"

I felt my gold orbs harden in a serious gaze, "Then let's say this. My name is Artemis, and that is all you need to know."

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN - NEVER THE HERO**

I came home to an empty house.

_Oh. Right. Yomi's at Temari's._

_Maybe I should go over. I don't want to be alone...especially not after tonight._

In the end, I decided to call them, using the number they'd given me before I left for Ame. But after throwing the hoodie that Kiba's body had gotten blood into a wash basin and scrubbing the heck out of it to make sure the blood's out and hanging it to dry.

_Shame...it was one of my favourite hoodies...I hope this doesn't damage it..._

_Oh, right. Gotta call them._

I called the number.

"Moshi moshi?" It was Kankuro who had answered.

"It's Sayaka. Can I come over?"

"Why? You afraid of sleeping alone?" he teased.

I hesitated before answering, trying to find the best answer, "Afraid...is not the word I would use. No, I am not afraid."

"...What happened?"

"I need the company of others right now. Is that too much to ask?"

"...Meet me at the cafe by the school. I'll pick you up from there."

"Thank you, Kankuro. I owe you one."

"Sayaka, you sound like you've been to hell and back. This is the least I can do," he told me, "but if you insist, you can treat me to ramen at that ramen place that kid Naruto raves about."

_Did I really sound like that? Goodness..._

I grinned, "Of course. I'll see you there."

I packed a bag with everything I needed and the rest of the gingersnaps, changed back into my uniform, put in my contacts, tied my hair into its usual style, and then headed out of the dorms, accidentally forgetting to grab a jacket.

* * *

I waited outside the cafe, which was, open. It was open until midnight, and it is currently 11:11 pm.

"I wish he'd show up soon," I muttered, fidgeting with the long sleeves of my sweater. I didn't expect for him to show up soon, but it would be nice if wishes came true...even if I didn't believe in those sorts of things.

_Let's be honest. Miracles, wishes...Those are nothing but false hopes for children. Nothing happens unless something is done about it._

"Sayaka?" Oh, look. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. It was Kankuro. I turned and smiled at him. He was without his makeup, which was strange, even though I had met him the day before, and he was wearing his black hoodie and a pair of black jogging pants.

"Oh, crap. You must be cold. Here," he unzipped his hoodie and put it around my shoulders, leaving him in a white T-shirt. Now very warm, I thanked him as he took my hand and lead me towards the townhouses, where I assumed he lived. The comfort of having a person beside me was...comforting. But, of course that meant nothing for my romantic sectors, though! It would be much different if I were myself!

"...Hey, Sayaka?" I looked over at him. For a moment, he seemed to forget what he was going to say, "Wow, you even look like you've been through hell and back. Exactly what happened to you while the girls had a slumber party?...Emphasis on party. There was no slumber."

"It's as you said," I whispered, "I've gone to hell and back."

"Visiting your family does that much to you? Wow, Say, your family must be killer." I glared at him.

"One, you are not permitted to call me that. Two, I don't want to talk about it."

He left the subject alone, thankfully, and then began talking about the little brats in Yomine/Gaara's grade. I tuned him out unintentionally. I wasn't exactly interested in children. Instead, I was a little preoccupied with dealing with whatever happened tonight.

_Just what was that? There were children in our school. I didn't recognize them, but they seemed to be around my age, give or take a couple of years. Why were they in there?_

_I had a feeling I was getting myself involved in a situation that would be comparable to a pool without one of those ladder-thingees in the Sims._

_That's not a good thing, by the way. For all of those not familiar to the Sims, if you take away the ladder-thingee while your Sim is in the pool, he/she will drown._

"Well, we're here," Kankuro said, his voice jolting me out of my reverie.

We had arrived at an average townhouse, which was painted a darker shade of greyish-beige with a brown roof. It looked pretty nice. It had a couple of tiny little garden-cacti growing in the front. I made a mental note not to fall into those.

"Nice place you've got here," I commented, feeling slightly impressed. He laughed, "Well, we do have an adult living with us, but Uncle Baki is out in Suna doing some business and decided to leave us here."

He stepped towards the house, but my arm, being the stupid little arm that it is, grabbed a hold of the back of his shirt, stopping him. I then proceeded to wrap my arms around him, burying my face in the cottony material of the back of his shirt, whispering in a muffled, incoherent voice, "I'm sorry. Please, just let me do this. Just for a little while."

As if he understood me, he turned around in my my grasp and gave me a proper hug, squeezing me a little and rubbing my back, as if to comfort me, "Shh...It's okay..." he had said, "Let it all out."

_I didn't realize that I was crying. But I was. I was crying for my friend who I didn't save. I was crying because he could end up like the multiple Kibas who had died in my nightmare. I was crying because I was weak and because it wasn't his fault he was now in this state, but mine. Surely I could have done something to help him. And I didn't. And it was all my fault._

_Now, with my face pressed against his chest and his arms around me, I felt safe for the first time since the first note._

_I know that my normal self would have never done this. But with Kiba in the hospital and possibly dying, I was more vulnerable than ever. If I wasn't careful, it would be possible for me to feel emotions at their fullest again._

_And that is something that I must avoid at all costs._

I started to pull away from the hug awkwardly, as that is the only possible way to do so. Luckily he got the message and let go. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, my face surely as red as red could be, "and thanks."

He patted my head as if I were a child, "Not a problem, doll." And with that, he grabbed my hand again and lead me to and, after unlocking it, through the door, "I like that. From now on, your special nickname will be 'doll'."

_I had thought of him all wrong. He wasn't just a slightly perverted flirt, but he knew how to take care of girls when they need someone to care for them. Any girl would be so very lucky to have him as a boyfriend._

* * *

It was a nice place, really, with brown and tan furnishing and beige walls, with a couple of plants here and there. The television was playing a movie. On the couch in front of the television were Yomine and Gaara, both dressed in casual clothes.

_Oh my Kami those two are as adorable as baby pandas. I'd fangirl if I knew how to._

_They had fallen asleep, Yomi's head was on Gaara's shoulder, and Gaara's on Yomi's head, their fingers intertwining. Both had contented smiles on their faces, looking as comfortable as could be in each other's company._

Kankuro, who was beside me, stared at them with his jaw pretty much on the floor. I nudged him with an elbow, "Take a picture; it'll last longer."

"That won't be necessary," Temari joined us, wearing a very extra large light lavender t-shirt that went to her mid-thighs. It was slightly slanted -if that's the word to describe it- so that it showed the strap of a black tank top underneath, "I've already taken fifteen. Each at different angles."

"Send them to me, please," I said, already making a spot for that perfect picture on my board in my mind. She grinned and nodded. After I returned the hoodie to its owner, she welcomed me into her room, which was a very nice room, with walls the same colour of her shirt and a nice little wooden bed with boxes that she had fit underneath. There was also a desk in the corner. On the floor were two sleeping areas, one with black covers and one with white covers, which I assumed was mine.

"Sorry for joining you guys last minute," I said. Temari waved dismissively, "It's fine. Don't worry about it. It's great that you could join us."

I took off my sweater, forgetting about the one-sided conversation on my arm. When Temari saw this, she questioned it.

_Crap. I can't lie. The most I can do is hide whatever I can and to tell parts of the truth. Crap._

"...My friend, Kiba. The kid with the red triangle tattoos on his cheeks? The one who has been threatened by those graffiti guys...He's...been hospitalized."

"So that's why you were talking to me..." Kankuro stood at the entranceway, his arm crossed, "It didn't seem likely to you'd talk, especially since you seem to talk in notes unless you're under a lot of emotional stress. I'm guessing that's the hell you went to and came back from."

I nodded, slightly embarrassed that he had heard that and a little surprised that he'd figured that out so quickly. I supposed it came from the part of him that knew how to treat girls properly.

"How is he?" Kankuro asked. I didn't detect any sort of jealous undertone, so I told him, awkwardly avoiding eye contact as I looked down towards the ground, "...He is...currently undergoing surgery. I wasn't allowed to stay due to the fact that I'm a student...I wonder how his family will react to this..." Suddenly, I became more worried than before.

_After all, his family wasn't exactly...well, sane._

"He'll be fine," Temari told me, "After all, all of the students here seems to be tough."

That made me laugh, because it was so very untrue, "Thanks, Temari."

She then pushed me past Kankuro, towards the bathroom with my bag, with a stern look, "Now shoo! You need to prep for bedtime and we all need to sleep! We have school tomorrow!"

I did an anime sweat drop, "Yes. Of course." And then, after she pretty much locked me in the bathroom, I changed into a black lacy gothic lolita-y night gown.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I have a lot of gothic lolita clothes in my wardrobe. You can thank Sasori's colleague for that. I have received so much clothing from her, I pretty much have no space for my own clothes minus my school uniform.

* * *

When I came out, with my teeth brushed, contacts still in (thank you extended wear contacts!), and my hair loose, Kankuro gave a wolf whistle, "Lookin' fine, doll." I reached into my school bag and chucked a marker at his head. I then folded a note into a paper airplane, which contained the words, "You are not allowed to keep my marker." and threw that at him also. He just chuckled and tossed the marker at me. With my...erm...amazing coordination skills, I kinda just kept juggling the marker before catching it accidentally with my elbow.

_Whoa. That's awesome. I have got to stop second-guessing myself._

I then dropped the marker.

_And this is why I can never stop second-guessing myself._

Gaara had awoken and was carrying Yomine to her sleeping area, bridal style, when I almost walked into him. I leapt back and hid behind a corner, hoping he had not seen me. He nodded in my general direction, and then continued.

_Oh my gosh. They are really adorable. I hope Temari's around to take pictures of this._

Barely audible clicks confirmed this.

_Thank you, Temari._

I peeked my head out and watched as the redheaded teen lowered my friend's body onto the sleeping area and pulled the blanket over her. He then pressed his lips to her forehead and whispered something to her before straightening up and leaving. I ducked behind my corner again.

"Good night, Sayaka," he said suddenly. I jumped, not expecting that. I thought that he'd just walk by.

"G-good night," I replied, a little shaky. He smirked slightly and then entered his room, where he closed the door.

_Oh my goodness gosh that was adorable! Someone needs to get that kid a leather jacket and shades because DAMN, that was cool._

* * *

Sleep was not easy. It's never easy, but today was horrible. I was afraid of dreaming of a dream that would be as terrifying as the one before. After all, parts of it were true. I didn't want to see it all come to life.

When I did sleep, I could not believe what I saw...

It was the exact same dream. I was reliving the same damn dream! With Kiba missing some parts and snakes eating...I did not want to see this again. I did not need to be anywhere close to blood, be it mine or Kiba's. I did not want to see another snake in my life.

It was getting to the part in which the noose was presented to me. I thrashed about and screamed, but my dream body did nothing. It was just limp and useless. When it was dropped, I plummeted to the ground and waited for my body to jolt awake in terror.

I was getting closer to the ground...Why am I not waking up?! Body, WAKE UP. Please! WAKE THE EFF UP!

"Not yet, Sayaka. Your dream is not over." The voice was a deep, yet soft one, one which seemed to know what he was doing. A large crow with red eyes swooped under my dream body and I flopped onto it...no. I didn't. I fell right through it! I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact.

It never came. When my eyes opened, I found myself standing in a forest...a strange one, at that. Everything was without colour...and it was absolutely, dead silent.

"You saved me..." I murmured aloud, "Thank you..."

"You were very lucky tonight," that majestic voice told me. I could have dismissed it as just another voice in my mind, but chose not to, as my paranoia took over. I whirled about, trying to locate the owner of the voice.

A man with long black hair in a low ponytail and black eyes now stood before me, his hands in his coat pockets. I recognized him as Sasuke's older brother. He lived in Ame, though, or so that's what I heard from Sasori.

"What...do you mean?" I asked, very confused as to what he was talking about. From my left, a crow cawed. I jumped.

_Maybe...if he helped me in my dream, he can help in real life!_

"You are wrong about many things, you know," he said.

_Or...not._

"They aren't after you, per say. And I am not going to help you," he told me in that mysterious way of his, "You must understand that unless you start becoming your own person, you will never become the hero you want to become so badly."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You aren't going to get answers by asking, Sayaka. You will never be the hero if you continue like this."

"Please, I don't understand. How do you know about them? Who are they?"

"You will soon find yourself involved in a tragedy that stars a lot more characters than just you. You must be prepared for it. If you react like this with everyone involved, you may just be what destroys everyone. You may not realize this, but what you have inside of you has the power of a double edged sword."

I hesitated before answering, "...Are you talking about that voice in my head? How do you even know about that?"

He heaved a heavy sigh, "I wish you the best of luck, Sayaka. You will need it."

The bird cawed again, which I watched as it spread its wings and flew up into the sky to who knows where. A black feather fluttered downwards and landed by my left foot. When I returned my gaze to Itachi, he was gone.

* * *

I woke with two pens in my hands, one red and one black. While I was asleep, I had written on my legs. In red on my right thigh, were the words, "Never the hero" and on my left ankle in black pen was a feather.

I didn't realize there were tears running down my face until I felt them fall.

_Itachi and my unconscious body were right. I am fated to never be the one in charge. Despite what I do, I will always be the damsel on distress. Deidara and that voice...no, those two voices saved me when I rushed in recklessly to rescue Kiba. Sasori's always been the one to help me since I was young. Even in my dreams, I was being saved! I have never been the one to fight my own battles. Everyone helps me in some way, shape or form; they've helped me so much, I don't even need to be there for things to happen. After all, everyone knows the puppeteer...but no one cares for his sister._

_I will never be the hero. Not even of my own story._

* * *

_Pisces: Hello all! Sorry for the late update. As of now, this story will be under construction. Yes, you heard/read right. I will be fiddling around with the chapters and all to make sure they are all perfect and to accommodate for my new storyline. Do not be alarmed if you see a couple of chapters missing or if anything looks different. Trust me. I know what I'm doing...or at least I hope so. I will be finished with everything before my next update; I promise. Until then, stay active and stay alive. This is Glacial Pisces, signing out. PEACE!_

___****__(I own nothing but Sayaka. All characters and credit goes to those who deserve it.)_


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